Presidential Staffer: I Was Asked to Bridge Communication Between Central Gov’t, W.Papua Gov’t

Special Staffer to the President Billy Mambrasar meets with West Papua Governor Dominggus Mandacan, Thursday (04/02), at the West Papua Governor’s Office, in Manokwari. (Photo by: Team of the Presidential Staffer Billy Mambrasar)

West Papua Governor Dominggus Mandacan expressed hope for Special Staffer to the President Billy Mambrasar to bridge communication between West Papua Provincial Government and the Central Government.

“I was asked to mediate communication between the West Papua Provincial Government and the Central Government so that it can be productive, especially on accelerating welfare development in West Papua,” Billy said after a meeting to discuss the implementation of Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2020 on the Acceleration of Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua Provinces at the West Papua Governor’s Office, in Manokwari, Thursday (04/02).

According to Billy, the meeting was held to receive input on the preparation of the Action Plan for the Presidential Instruction.

“This was the first time I have spoken to the Governor on the Presidential Instruction,” he said.

The Presidential Instruction stated that the Action Plan should focus on the five new frameworks for Papua, namely acceleration of human resources development, acceleration of the transformation of economic development, acceleration of basic infrastructure development, enhancement and preservation of the environment, and acceleration of bureaucratic reform.

Billy added that the preparation of the Action Plan is an important stage in the implementation of Presidential Instruction.

“Through this meeting, I received a lot of information that I can communicate with many parties, including the Central Government,” he said.

The meeting also discussed the Papua Muda Inspiratif (Inspiring Young Papua) movement that aims to encourage the youth to become entrepreneurs, to promote integrated tourism development of West Papua Province, to promote inclusive green investment for indigenous Papuans, to build education for indigenous Papuans through boarding-style flagship schools, and to introduce the millennial farmer program. (Presidential Special Staff Team/UN) (FI/EP)